The rumormill is abuzz with talk about the Zune Phone, aka Windows Phone 7, which many expect to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress on Feb 15th.
Microsoft is expected to announce:
Full Zune Integration
The User Interface is based upon codename “METRO”, and will be similar to the Zune HD User Interface.
Windows Mobile Device Center will [...]
There’s still hope for the Microsoft Zune, based on a new teen survey on portable media players.
13% of the teens surveyed that plan to buy a portable media player plan to buy a Zune in the next 12 months, up from 0% a year ago.
73% plan to buy an iPod, down from 100% a year [...]
Microsoft is considering porting its Zune software and services to other platforms, including Apple Mac OS X.
There’s no guarantee that Microsoft is going to pursue this strategy.
If they do, though, they may actually be starting to think different about the Zune.
Betanews has published an interesting review of the new Zune HD, and it makes a great case for both the pros and cons of Microsoft’s latest attempt to match Apple’s iPod:
The Zune HD is perhaps the best portable media player released by any vendor — even better than iPod touch. Microsoft finally gamed Apple, with [...]
Brian Seitz of Microsoft’s Zune team demonstrates the Zune HD on Microsoft’s Redmond campus.
via TechFlashVideos:
Microsoft today released the Zune HD touch-screen media player.
The Zune HD features an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) multitouch screen, an NVIDIA Tegra HD processor and HD Radio capabilities, with software advancements such as the new Quickplay menu and an advanced Web browser.
With Zune HD, users now have the ability to store and play back 720p [...]
Ars Technica reports that Microsoft currently has no plans to sell the Zune HD outside the US.
Snarkier readers may wonder if Microsoft currently has any plans to sell the Zune HD inside the US, after Apple’s recent iPod introductions and price cuts.
“For the time, being the Zune HD device will remain US only,” a Microsoft [...]
With the launch of the Zune HD coming up September 15th, podcasters may be thinking about revisiting the Zune platform.
Microsoft podcasting guru Rob Greenlee offers these tips on how to get more Zune podcast listeners:
Here are a few things that you should do as a podcast content creator to reach as many Zune podcast users [...]
We’re still skeptical about the prospects for the Microsoft Zune HD….but CNet’s Donald Bell recently geeked-out with a pair of the new Zune HDs and came away impressed:
I am tentatively reaffirming my faith in Microsoft. This thing was worth the wait, folks.
Mind you, it’s not going to crush the iPod Touch–a product that for all [...]
CNet’s Matt Rosoff got a preview of the upcoming Microsoft Zune HD, and came away “thinking that Microsoft might finally have a contender”:
I was surprised and pretty impressed with its small size–without measuring, I’d guess it’s maybe two-thirds the size of an iPod Touch, and quite a bit thinner. In my hands, it felt more [...]